Students visiting the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center help to gather food for the birds and to plant native species of trees and shrubs.
Outreach and Education in Hawaii
The Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program (HEBCP) successfully breeds and rears rare species such as the Maui parrotbill, the palila, the puaiohi, and the 'alala, or Hawaiian crow. The program's codirector, Alan Lieberman, places a high value on education programs to benefit children in Hawaii. Since 1998, the HEBCP has partnered with the Keakealani Outdoor Education Center, which is sponsored by the Hawaii Department of Education.
Every sixth-grade student on the big Island of Hawaii is hosted for a three-day/two-night stay in the rain forests near the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The children hike the park, learn about Hawaiian natural history, and visit the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center in order to learn about the work of the HEBCP firsthand. Since 1998, over 10,000 children have visited the Center, seeing bird species they may only have heard about from their elders.
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Read Weblogs about the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
